As New Yorkers, we pass countless people on the street each day, but do you ever stop and wonder what story each individual carries? There is the person in the subway singing a song they wrote and slowly achieving their dream or the activist trying to spread knowledge about issues to make the world a better place, all these people have an interesting journey that is waiting to be told.
In the new book, Talent for Humanity by Patrick Gaffney, readers are introduced to seven inspiring people that discuss how they used their passions and creativity to improve the community around them. Whether it is facing adversity to discovering a problem that needs to be fixed, these incredible individuals will leave readers motivated to improve their environment.
At the end of every story, the authors have the chance to write a letter to humanity, which uses their experiences to give hope to readers on how to improve not only their lives, but the human race.
One letter that will stick with you is from Yarrow Kraner, founder of the mentoring program HATCH, who writes an inspiring and thought-provoking letter. He explains that people are always changing and there are times in our lives that the change is drastic, but people always need to believe. “Many people think to themselves that they will believe it when they see. I have for a very long time firmly believed that you will see it when you believe it,” he writes. “As humans we are also gifted with an incredible amount of resilience, and if we continue down our life path with belief, courage, and creativity, we will overcome any obstacle on the way to help ‘hatching’ a better world,” he concludes. Filled with powerful statements, Kraner makes readers wonder and analyze what they have been through, how they pulled through it and where they plan on going. His words go deeper than what is on the page — within those few sentences it can give a ray light for people that may have not seen it before.
When readers finish all the stories, Gaffney turns the tables on the reader and it is now our turn to ponder how we can improve our community. Posing questions and statements about how everyone is interconnected, Gaffney looks to literary figures and activists that share a vision of improving the community.
With numerous self-improvement books on the market, Talent for Humanity keeps the reader engaged up until the last page. There is just one question that readers will have when they finish the book, what can they do to improve their community?
Twisted Talk: Have you read Talent for Humanity? What is your favorite story? Discuss below!
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